Live updates

Education Secretary Michael Gove visited the first new school to open in Birmingham for 15 years today. Credit: ITV Central

Education Secretary Michael Gove has said that the Government's new free schools are like "private schools that you don't have to pay to go to".

The Conservative MP visited the first new free school to open in Birmingham for 15 years today and it has been revealed that twice as many new free schools will start the new term this week compared with last year.

Advertisement

Education Secretary Michael Gove has said the Government has created a "dramatic change" in the pace of new schools opening.

It has been revealed that twice as many new free schools will start the new term this week compared to last year, as 55 schools open their doors for the first time.

The Conservative MP told BBC News:

Under the last government if you were opening a new school it would take anything up to three to five years to open. In fact, when they [Labour] had a parent promoted school that opened under there tenure... it took 10 years to open.

Last year we opened 24 schools within one year, now 55 after two years, it's a dramatic change in the pace of new school opening.

As a result more parents have the chance to send their children to high quality schools in communities in many cases that haven't had that choice before.